Specklefur's limbs were aching when she left camp, but now that she was at the gathering, she could rest. The first thing she wanted to see was the leaders. Streamstar stood on the rock proudly, as she did every gathering. Redstar was settled, shooting glances back and forwards. WindClan's leader, Skystar, was trying to engage into a conversation with Streamstar. Everyone knew that he'd rather give an attacker their prey than fight (It's surprising that Redstar didn't target Skystar's clan.)
Ever since the fire, everyone were wondering one thing: did Fangstar escape? Fangstar, leader of ThunderClan, was a rather nice she-cat, though sometimes she enjoyed battles, and would battle clanmates from both her and other clans "for fun". She still was loyal to the code, however, and if she died in the fire, Specklefur knew everyone would miss her.
Soon, ThunderClan's scent filled the air, as a brown tabby approached. He had yellowish-amber eyes, with two fresh claw marks just under one, and one old claw mark under the other. His pelt was torn from battles and scorched by fire.
This was just Clawshine, one of the most loyal and strong warriors in the forest, and also Fangstar's deputy. When Clawshine hopped up the rock, everyone knew that Fangstar was, indeed, dead. Specklefur saw an unfamiliar look in his eyes. What was it?
When Clawstar got up, the gathering officially began. Skystar said that kittypets have started wandering on his territory, and Whisper appeared in Specklefur's mind. Had he been one of the kittypets? Surely not; Whisper was right by the edge of RiverClan territory. If he started to wander, it'd be right into RiverClan.
Suddenly, a familiar scent flooded her nostrils. Singedpaw must've smelled it, too, because he mouthed, "Whisper!", eyes wide with fear.
Soon, Owlscreech and Fawnpaw had scented Whisper. Owlscreech yowled, "Kittypet!" as Fawnpaw spun around, ready to confront Whisper.
Specklefur noticed the light fading, and looked up. "StarClan's angry! Look!" she said, gesturing to the clouds that drifted over to the moon, threatening to cover up the light. Owlscreech and Fawnpaw settled down, staring at Whisper.
Streamstar leapt down to the kittypet. "Hello, Kittypet," she said to Whisper. "I'm sorry for all that. You should head home."
"I'll take him back," Specklefur volunteered immediately.
Singedpaw stood up, nearly wincing as he got up on his burnt leg. "I'll take him, too."
Streamstar nodded. "Okay. Come back soon."
Nightshade stood up. "I can help," he said, and Specklefur felt frightened, knowing he was plotting something.
Streamstar shook her head. "No, Nightshade. They're enough."
Grumbling, Nightshade sat down. Streamstar nodded at Specklefur and Singedpaw. "Alright, take him back to his twolegs."
Specklefur felt lucky when Streamstar rejected Nightshade's offer. He was obviously suspicious, and wanted to see what was going on with Specklefur. Nightshade glared at them as they left.
Specklefur turned to Whisper. "What were you doing out there?" she asked once she was sure they were out of earshot.
"I saw you get on the island, and I wanted to see if I could say hi." Whisper said.
Singedpaw turned to Whisper. "You can't let other cats know you two know each other."
"Why?"
"It's not allowed." Singedpaw simply said.
(Next Day...)
"Where do you find catmint?"
"They normally grow by twolegplace."
"What is catmint for?"
"Catmint is the best remedy for greencough."
"Let's say a warrior walks in here with an infected wound, and they're still bleeding. What do you do?"
"I would chew up marigold, leaves or petals, and use it to stop the infection, and then I would apply cobwebs for the bleeding."
"A stray kitten eats deathberries, what-"
"I'd hurry and get yarrow, then give it to the kit. The yarrow would make the kit throw up the deathberries."
Specklefur purred. "Great. Now, I have to let Streamstar know."
"Know what?"
"That we'll be heading off to the Moonpool for your medicine cat ceremony!"
Singedpaw perked up. "Really?!"
Specklefur smiled. "Really."
(Soon...)
Specklefur lead Singedpaw to a small stream. Singedpaw, not waiting for Specklefur, ran past his mentor, up the stream, up to a pool turned white by the moon, shining above. Smiling, Specklefur walked up to Singedpaw, purring.
"You look really excited." she said.
Singedpaw leapt up at her. "What was your ceremony like?" he asked instantly.
Specklefur sat there for a moment. "It was a long time ago," she said finally. "I can't be expected to remember everything!"
Singedpaw wondered 'How can you not remember your own ceremony', but said nothing.
Specklefur gestured for Singedpaw to approach. "I, Specklefur, medicine cat of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help, he will serve his clan for many moons," she called to the sky. She had a dream earlier, with the ceremony words ringing in her head, so she could perform the ceremony properly. "Singepaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"
There was no hesitation or doubt in his voice when Singedpaw spoke. "I do."
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your true name as a medicine cat." Specklefur called. "Singedpaw, from this moment, you will be Singedpelt. StarClan honors your determination and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full medicine cat of RiverClan."
Singedpelt beamed. He rose his head proudly, before getting caught off guard when Specklefur rested her muzzle on his head. Quickly, he licked her shoulder, before backing up. "This is the most happiest day ever!" Singedpelt yowled, jumping up and kicking back a few leaves. Suddenly, Singedpelt froze. His eyes were wide, and he was eyeing the Moonpool.
Specklefur glanced at it. There was nothing but ripples caused by the wind. What was going on? Was Singedpelt already getting a vision?
Finally, Singedpelt shook his head, muttering. "So that must be why..."
"Why what?" Specklefur asked.
Singedpelt stared up at Specklefur, eyes widened. "It's... nothing... let's go..."
With that, Singedpelt ran off, with Specklefur staring as he left.
I didn't know exactly how to do the medicine cat ceremony. Please ignore if I got something wrong. Thank you. :)
